Function of Symbols: Poetry Practice Test

Read the poem embedded below, then answer the question.

In the hospital parking lot, my mother names the clouds

for my son, who is too young to know what stays.

Inside, the elevator dings like a small verdict.

I press the button for the fifth floor and watch our reflections

stutter in brushed steel—three faces, one waiting.

A volunteer offers coffee that tastes like apology.

In the room, my father sleeps with his mouth open,

as if still surprised by air.

On the windowsill, a plastic fern leans toward the glass,

dusty, unwatered, perfectly green.

At dusk, the city lights come on in their practiced order,

and I adjust the fern so it will not fall,

though nothing here is growing.

In context, the plastic fern most strongly functions as a symbol of

Read the following poem excerpt and answer the question.

In the hospital parking lot, my father

counts coins in the cupholder, naming them

as if naming could keep them.

Inside, the vending machine hums its cold hymn.

A nurse hands me a bracelet; it clicks shut

like a small decision.

In the waiting room, I watch the door

that won’t open until it does.

My father folds his hands around a paper cup of water

and stares through it, as if the clear could explain.

In context, the paper cup of water most likely functions as a symbol of